Monday, January 19, 2009
A fraudulent email situation...
+M
Hello Everyone!
It's so hard to believe that tomorrow is January 20th and we will have a new President! As faithful Catholics, let us make it a day of prayer and fasting. Let's pray that he might respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit as he leads our nation and that his decisions might uphold the sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death!
On another note, I want to address a situation which has happened in the past 24 hours. My email account has been hacked. I apologize for any confusion that may have become of this. If you are currently listed as a contact in my address book, you may have received a fraudulent email from me requesting money to bring me home from England. Rest assured, I am in Gaithersburg and working at St. Martins. Please do not send any money! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. This matter is being investigated. Please pray for its swift resolve.
Thanks!
God bless,
Erin
Director of Youth Ministry
Friday, January 9, 2009
What's Happening in January?
HERE ARE THREE GREAT EVENTS YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS!
On Saturday, January 17th, we are going to the abortion clinic to pray. This is a peaceful and quiet protest...one that will bring many graces and hopefully save lives!
As you know, this year we will have Chris Padgett in concert. You're going to love it! 
3. March for Life- This is the event that we are gearing up for. We will be taking buses into Washington, DC for the March. The bus ride and lunch is free. We will be meeting in the Fr. Meyer Field on January 22nd at 5:00am. We will be going to Mass at the Verizon center with 20,000 other Catholic teenagers. Pick up after the march will be at the Fr. Meyer field at 5:00pm. Permission slips are required.
Friday, January 2, 2009
U2
I Want to be with You again....
Happy New Year Everyone!
I'm sure you're wondering why I have posted this video. Well, I was thinking that this song makes a great prayer. Really? Really.
If you've heard it a million times, listen to it again. This time, imagine that you are speaking to God. Cool, huh?
This is the time of year, when our society begins it's "resolutions." Many people will say that in 2009, they resolve to drop a few pounds; turn all of their homework in on time; or spend less time watching TV. All good things but I really think that resolutions are good not only for our daily lives, but also for our spiritual lives. I challenge you to take some time to think and pray about where your relationship with God stands right now. He loves you and longs for you to live your life for Him, with Him, and in Him. Where do you see God at work in your life? What are some areas of sin and darkness in your life? Do you spend regular time praying? Do you go to Mass on Sundays and confession often?
The Lord stands at the door of your heart and knocks. What can you do in 2009 to open yourself a little more to Him?
Maybe you can resolve to pray a little everyday and read Scripture. Maybe you can resolve to be more patient with your parents and siblings by asking God to teach you how to be gentle with them. Or, perhaps you can to try to get to Mass a little early on Sundays and to listen, watch, and pray throughout the Mass, really putting your entire self into it
These are just a few ideas....I'm sure you have some of your own.
Please know that I am praying for all of you and that I wish all of you a very happy and holy new year!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Christmas isn't over...it's only just begun!
'Tis the Season!?!
from-http://www.lifeteen.com/default.aspx PageID=BGSTWDETAIL&__DocumentID=255597
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…”
- Ecclesiastes 3:1
Ready for Christmas?
Ready for Christmas to be over?
How do you keep Christmas going?
It’s a familiar sight: boxes torn open, bellies full of food, trash cans overflowing and wrapping paper flung aimlessly about while children unleash a sugar fit and parents enter into a sleep-deprived food coma.
Christmas is not a day, it’s a seasonIt’s Christmas night. Families have squeezed into overstuffed pews, encountered the Lord of the universe in the Sacrament(s) and returned home with “Silent Night” engrained in their heads. Santa has come. Relatives have joined together and departed (or fallen asleep) and all that work of shopping and wrapping, cooking and cleaning came to fruition.
Christmas is over – says the world.Christmas is just beginning, however, says the Catholic Church.Christmas is not a day, it’s a season. We don’t just celebrate Christ’s coming over a 24-hour period, but for days – weeks, even.So, how do we avoid falling into that trap of cleaning up and counting down the 364 days until the next organized melee of celebration?
Here’s a few suggestions:First, be present to the holy days (holidays). Pay attention to the people around you. Ask them questions. Find out how they are and what they need prayers for this year. Listen to stories, even if you’ve heard them a thousand times before. Be thankful for the mere opportunity you have with your family and loved ones, you never know how many more Christmases you (or they) will have, just as Christ reminds us in scripture: “no one knows the hour.” (Matt. 24:36)
Next, make the Christmas Mass primary for yourself (and hopefully for your family). Encourage your family to start getting ready even earlier and leave plenty of time to get the Church ahead. Stress, tardiness, parking and overcrowding lead to frustration during what should be a joyous liturgy. Enter into the Mass, fully, and offer a joyful example for all to see.
Third, don’t even dish up the food or sit down to eat until everyone has taken a few minutes in meaningful prayer before the meal(s). Now, this looks different from household to household. If your family doesn’t pray, be bold and initiate it. If your family always prays, go deeper – make it even more meaningful. Doesn’t God deserve better than a “quick prayer” before we start shoveling food? After all, He’s the reason we’re having a party. Keep up this practice each night before dinner.
Next, practice being patient each and every day, one situation at a time. Possibly carry your rosary in your pocket, wear your cross more prominently or do something else visual and visible that will act as a reminder to you to be like Christ to people who annoy you. You, my brothers and sisters, make Christ’s name more holy or less holy to the world, through your actions.
Fifth, with every tear of the wrapping paper and while cleaning up every box and gift bag, remind yourself of those who are without this year. Many will not open any presents, or eat any food. Many are alone this holiday season. Be thankful for each and every gift you receive (even the tube socks, calendar, ugly sweater or bad tie).
Sixth, at the end of Christmas day, go to bed extra early, and spend some time in prayer thanking God for not only the physical gifts you received, but for the gifts we often don’t thank Him for, like your sight, your hearing, your mobility, your health, your clothing, food, etc. Keep up that early-to-bed practice for at least a week – it only takes a couple weeks for something to become a habit.
Lastly, begin a list on Christmas, and spend the following week until the holy day on January 1st (The Solemnity of Mary) adding to it. On the list, write down concrete, practical ways that you are going to use your gifts to proclaim Christ’s love and His mercy this next year. Make these your primary “New Year’s” fesolutions.These are just a few ideas, but they can easily become simple things that bear great fruit in your life. You probably have much better ideas, so write some down and commit to them. The gifts in boxes and bags won’t last a lifetime. The gift of eternal life is the only one that does…
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” - Ecclesiastes 3:1
There is no time like the present and there is no present like this Christmas season.
Seminarians watch over the youth at Mount 200X
Is God calling you to be a priest? You ask. God responds. Then what do you say?
The first step in praying well is to realize to whom you are speaking - God who is your Father - and ask for what you need. In discernment, what you need is God's light to discover his plans for your life. Ask him with the confidence a child has in his mother or father when he asks for something that is truly good for him. How many times did Our Lord tell the Apostles the basic step of asking in prayer for what they needed? Faith and asking in prayer for what we need are two threads woven throughout the Gospel.
It sometimes happens that you pray and ask for an answer from God but seem to receive no response. This makes you wonder why: is it because it is too late to be asking the question? Is it because the path you already are on is the correct one? Is it a question of your motivation?
I don't know the exact answer to this, but let me ask you and then do some imagining: what kind of an answer are you expecting to your prayers? How do you think the answer is going to come to you?
At times we expect our prayers to be answered in the form of some unmistakable visible sign (like someone who does a novena to discover his vocation, and tells God to send him someone to give him an answer. Then, as soon as he finishes it, a perfect stranger asks him if he is going to be a priest... ). It is not good to look for this type of sign, because by doing so we are setting out conditions for God to fulfill. That's not the way it works.
God, of course can send us a sign like this if he wants. But we shouldn't be counting on it, and much less stipulate it.
Other times we expect our prayers to be answered by an almost overwhelming interior illumination. We expect to be flooded with an absolute conviction in answer to our prayers, and no longer have any doubt whatsoever about the path to follow.
This is not good either. It is too subjective. It begs the question: couldn't this be just my imagination, some sudden euphoria; how can I be sure it really is God's answer?
So, how do we know what God is saying in answer to our prayers?
Remember what Jesus tells us, in essence: "your Father knows what you need even before you ask him for it. If he loves you, will he hold back anything that you need? You wouldn't do that to someone you love, and he loves you much more."
Jesus also tells us how to pray, "seek first the Kingdom of God, and then you will receive all else as well."
The important thing in prayer is not so much to ask, but to change. Often when we pray to find our way in life we say, "Lord, tell me if it's A or B." Then we don't seem to get a clear answer. Could be it really is C, or maybe even D. So to get our answer we have to change: not limit him to the choices we see, but to tell him we are willing to do anything he wants us to do. When we start praying we are usually looking for what is good for us (of course, for all the right motives, but we are still looking out for ourselves). The outcome of prayer is that we begin to look out for what is best for his Kingdom.
As you pray better, certain convictions will take root in your life. You will be more sensitive to the needs of the Church and to the unique gift God gave us by giving us life; you will grow in the sense of how little this life can compare to the next, and how short life really is. All of this will affect your attitude towards the way you are going to live yours, and the choices you make. You will see God's hand and providence in your life more easily. You will have more of a 'sense' of what he wants you to do.
But it will never be absolutely clear. You will still need some prudent advice and direction from a spiritual director.
How to Get Started in Prayer
There are several good prayer books, but let me suggest this. Get a copy of a Daily Missal (for example, the 'Vatican II Missal' published by the Daughters of St Paul). Check the index to make sure it has a section called 'A Treasury of Prayers' or something similar, usually in the back. It will include prayers before and after Mass, morning and night prayers, popular devotions, prayers for special intentions, etc....
The reason for my suggestion is this: if you want to cultivate your prayer life, and especially if you think God might be calling you, you will want to go to Mass more frequently, and you will want to prepare and participate in the Mass more fully. The missal will help you do both.
On the days you cannot go to Mass you will be able to read the scripture readings from Mass on your own, and the missal I mentioned has short, helpful reflections for each day's readings that I am sure you will find useful.
After you read through the Treasury of Prayers a few times you are going to have a few favorites that you like to pray every day. That is usually a good sign for your spiritual life.
visit www.vocation.com for more information.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Deck the Halls!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Wait for God's Mercy
He's almost here, God's-Mercy-Made-Into-Flesh. Can you feel Him? Pray, and ask God to show you where He is acting, especially as the days grow short and the night grows long and dark. Here is a psalm to reflect on:
Psalm 90: A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
Lord, you have been our refuge through all generations.
Before the mountains were born, the earth and the world brought forth,
from eternity to eternity you are God.
But men you return to dust, saying, "Return, you children of men!"
A thousand years in your eyes are merely a yesterday,
Before a watch passes in the night,
you have brought them to their end; They disappear like sleep at dawn;
they are like grass that dies.
It sprouts green in the morning; by evening it is dry and withered.
Truly we are consumed by your anger, filled with terror by your wrath.
You have kept our faults before you, our hidden sins exposed to your sight.
Our life ebbs away under your wrath; our years end like a sigh.
Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty, if we are strong; Most of them are sorrow and toil; they pass quickly, we are all but gone.
Who comprehends your terrible anger? Your wrath matches the fear it inspires.
Teach us to count our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Relent, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!
Fill us at daybreak with your love, that all our days we may sing for joy.
Make us glad as many days as you humbled us, for as many years as we have seen trouble.
Show your deeds to your servants, your glory to their children.
May the favor of the Lord our God be ours. Prosper the work of our hands! Prosper the work of our hands!
Monday, December 8, 2008
I told Erin that I'd put something on the blog
But I forgot when I was supposed to do it. So now seems like a good time.
Who knows what day today is? Ten monopoly dollars to whoever gets it right - and I know you won't have to guess.
That's RIGHT! It's the Solemn Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. That's the day we celebrate when St. Anne conceived Mama Mary in her womb, in the ordinary way that babies are made, but with an extraordinary grace involved. We are all born into the brokenness of Adam and Eve. It's the most provable fact in the world. Just open a newspaper if you don't believe me. Burglaries, rapes, murders, hatred, racism, pollution - the world is broken. In our own lives: missing parents, drugs, gossip that cuts, broken and hardened hearts, loneliness covered up with iPods and video games. The world is broke. That's what Original Sin kinda means. Our default direction is downward.
But not Mary. God spared her the brokenness so that she could be a good mom for His own Son, Jesus. The two of them then can become a tag-team superhero duo, giving sin the ol' one-two. Nothing evil can stand up to the sacred names of Jesus and Mary. Use them often, but never in jokes or as cuss words. Keep them in your heart. She was perfectly open to Jesus, and if we ask her, she will open us to Him as well. Jesus is God's great gift to us, but he's too much for us to handle on our own. So God gave us Mary to get the world, to get each of us, ready. Mary is the gift before the gift.
Which reminds me that Christmas is seventeen days away. Sweet.
